›› LETTERS Like they say: A man’s home is his Three Castles I love reading your paper. There is always at least one article or comment to get my dander up. It does my heart good! Ms. Silverstein should be her own “zero” for giving a “hero” award to the Board of Supervisors [Hero&Zero, May 25] for one more governmental intrusion into our lives. As much as most of us abhor cigarette smoke and are annoyed by smokers, this is an issue between landlord and tenant. The board has no business telling me what I can or cannot do in my own home. I confess to not reading the ordinance. Maybe it is limited to public housing owned by the county, but the article does not suggest that. Otherwise, they should quit trying to control everything we do. Walter Dods, San Rafael
We demand ID proof that pasta was born in Arizona! I was shocked and distressed to read the panegyric in the May “Fearless Flyer” [Trader Joe’s newsletter] to whole-wheat fusilli made from “organic” wheat grown in Arizona. I know Trader Joe’s to be a retailer that is fair to both its customers and employees. So it comes as a surprise that they are singing the praises of a product that originates in Arizona. In the first place, I have about the same level of confidence in the enforcement of organic regulations by a state government headed by Jan Brewer as I have in those of the nation headed, until recently, by Kim Jong Il. Secondly, I prefer not to buy products from a state that continues to pass legislation that is anti-immigrant,
anti-women and anti-gay. If Trader Joe’s is going to persist in carrying foodstuffs from Arizona, they would be wise not to publicize the fact in the Fearless Flyer. Charlie Falk, San Rafael
Golden years losing their sheen Thanks to Joanne Williams for her feature [“The Outsourced Life,” June 8] about selling her house and moving to a senior facility. As the daughter of two parents with dementia, I want to share with you that I think making the decision to move now while you can make it yourselves is the best gift you can give your children and grandchildren. My siblings and I have been struggling with our difficult, intransigent father, rapidly deteriorating, for several years. Many falls, trips to ER, firing of caregivers, and other crises. We are now forced to move mom and dad against dad’s will to assisted living as we need to sell their house to continue paying for their care. We had to remove the car a year ago, and I fully manage their financial affairs. It’s a great burden at a time when we would prefer to be enjoying our parents’ company. Joanne, I hope you enjoy your new home, new friends you will make, and three meals a day prepared by someone else. I know my parents will find enjoyment once they settle in. I hope you are able to stay here in Marin. Anonymous, Marin
We believe he’s being ‘fecesious’ An open letter to Marin residents of a certain class: This letter is to express my appreciation and heartfelt gratitude for your continuing efforts on my behalf. As a successful Marin
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Good pick up joints in Marin? Hey, it’s me again, Johnny Marin (yes, that’s my last name. ha ha.) Just moved to the county and looking for places to meet eligible women. Marin had a reputation in the 70s a... Boy I sure wish I had one of them Hummers! Everytime I see a Hummer these days, which ain’t often believe me, I chuckle and imagine the jerk inside paying $200 to fill up that tub simply because he couldn’t demonstrate...
Your soapbox is waiting at ›› pacificsun.com resident of some renown, at least in my own mind, my overblown sense of entitlement makes it impossible—unthinkable, really—for me to clean up after myself and my dog. That is what servants are for, after all. I’m sure you can imagine the irreparable harm to my social standing that would occur should I be seen carrying a bag of dog feces. Quelle horreur! Therefore I shall continue my current practice of first checking that no one is looking, then quickly picking up Fifi’s poo in a bag, neatly tying the bag in a bow, and leaving it there by the side of the road, sidewalk, or trail so you can easily find it and dispose of it for me at the nearest, well, wherever it is that you people dispose of things. While I know you are not being paid for this act of kindness, I’m sure you feel the joy in your heart that comes from knowing that you are contributing to the well-being of someone more fortunate than yourself. Again, I thank all of you kindhearted plebes for your gracious, uncomplaining support in this endeavor. That is all. You may go. Don Root, San Anselmo
We think a good title for your story would be ‘Old Yellow’ There is a disturbingly narcissistic trend that has developed over the past few years of dog owners blithely taking their pets into any manner of commercial establishment. There are a few businesses with the temerity to tell their customers, “Are you out of your mind? What kind of a self-centered, thoughtless, inane individual are you? It’s not the proper thing to do to bring a dog into a public place.” Actually, they capture the thought with the more pithy, “No dogs allowed.” Whatever happened to dogs like Spike, like Fido, like Buster, like Rover? They could stay in the car. They could stay at home. They made do. They were dogs. They were not deprived of the utterly joyous moment of master’s return. Even Lassie was allowed to breach the commercial realm only when someone fell into an abandoned well. Is this a new breed of dog today? Perhaps from the bloodline of the Leona Helmsley kennel? I suspect it is more a new breed of owner of the Leona Helmsley bloodline. I had a dubiously regal experience recently as a carpet of liquid gold was sprayed before me as I ambled behind an oblivious middle-
aged woman walking her dog down the corridor at Montecito Plaza. I was relieved, unlike the dog, when the couple did not turn into Trader Joe’s. Now, allowing dogs into Trader Joe’s, unlike other retail establishments, And if Timmy’s family had had would bring a indoor plumbing, Lassie would unique peril. never have had to leave the Imagine a store house at all... full of canines when the bell is rung. The Pavlovian pandemonium unleashed could prove disastrous. Dogs would be salivating all over their Santorum-like sweater vests. Perhaps those today would do well to remember the story of Narcissus of Greek mythology who, while out walking his dog at the public market, peers into a puddle of urine and, seeing his reflection, falls in love with himself. His faithful companion could just as well have stayed home. J. S. Danielson, San Rafael
Really? We’d assumed he was in charge of ACORN...
So that’s why Secret Squirrel always wore the trenchcoat!
The real scandal at the Secret Service? It’s run by Secret Squirrel! Craig Whatley, San Rafael
JUNE 15 - JUNE 21, 2012 PACIFIC SUN 7